Final Reflection

Well...I simply cannot believe we are at the end of this program already! It has been quite a journey for me both professionally and personally and am so glad that I decided to take this huge leap in the right direction! When I started this program I was a bit apprehensive about jumping into an area that, to be honest, I did not know too much about and was not particularly excited or passionate about. That has all changed throughout the course of this program. I am so passionate now about integrating technology into my classroom and helping my students develop those vital 21st century skills they need to become successful in the future.

In this last course we learned all about digital gaming and how it can be utilized in the classroom to complement and reinforce instruction. Students today have been playing video games since they could talk and have developed the necessary skills to master these games. It seems only natural to incorporate these skills into their learning and use gaming in the educational environment. Not only will students be able to utilize these games much easier than students maybe 10 years ago, they are also having fun and it relates to their daily to lives. I had no idea the variety of resources for learning there are in the form of digital games until taking this course.

As a means of continuing my education in technology, I am going to be joining a yahoo and Ning group that is made up of teachers that teach the same grade I do and are interested in implementing useful technologies into the classroom as well. We can all share ideas and create, create, create! I am looking forward to continuing my education in this way. I am teaching new grade this year and am really looking forward to getting new ideas from teachers who have been working with older kids for a longer time. I would never have been interested in doing this prior to this program but now have found a new passion and excitement for using new technologies!

Thanks to all of my fellow classmates and colleagues who have been incredible resources to me along the way. I have valued your thoughts and ideas and hope that I have been able to share a bit with you too! Best of luck to each of you and you begin this new journey!